Walk Worthy Of The Lord

SERMON OUTLINE

• Introduction: The Call of Live Worthy
• Our Greater Obligation to God
• The Balanced Christian Life
• I. A Fruitful Life
• Man of God
• Saved for Good Works
• II. A Knowledgeable Walk
• Defending the Faith
• Sharing the Gospel
• III. A Persevering Walk
• An Illustration of a Spirit-filled Christian
• Patience and Longsuffering
• Tribulation Worketh Patience
• Be Submissive to God
• Closing prayer

TRANSCRIPT

Are you a citizen of Australia? If you are, then you are well aware that you are obligated to abide by the laws of this country. If you are a soldier, you are obligated to abide by the standards of the military. If you are a doctor, you are obligated to abide by the standards set by the medical board. If you are an athlete, you are obligated to follow the rules of the game.

Almost every organisation and every society would operate within certain requirements and obligations. When a person falls short of those standards, he or she would be rejected. People are afraid to be rejected, whether by their companies, organisations, or the society. So they would discipline themselves to keep to those required obligations in order to be accepted. Sometimes they would take extreme measures not to be disqualified.

But what about being disapproved by God? What about our obligations to the Almighty God who has saved us from eternal hell, transported us out of darkness, and into His marvellous light? When we receive Jesus Christ as our Saviour, we became citizens of God’s kingdom and members of His family. Along with all those spiritual blessings and privileges, we also have obligations. We are expected to live as new creatures in Christ. We are expected to live according to God’s standard. We are expected to let His purposes be our purposes, to let His desires be our desires.

In our previous message, we have learned about the Apostle Paul praying for the Colossians unceasingly, that they might be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. Having the right doctrine must lead to the right response, and the opposite is also true. The right response must be based on the right doctrine.

It is impossible to live a faithful Christian life without biblical doctrines. And it is equally useless to have biblical doctrines but not live a faithful Christian life. This is what we want to learn from this passage in Colossians 1:10-11. The title of our message is ’Walk Worthy of the Lord’.

Look at the first part of verse 10: "That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing," To walk is to live out. It is the way we live our lives. The original Greek word for "worthy" has the root meaning of balancing the scales—what is on one side of the scales is equal to what is on the other side. It means to have a value that is equal to one’s position. A worker who is worthy is someone whose services equal the wages he receives.

If you profess to be a Christian, then you must live a life that equals the profession of faith. There are some Christians who are very knowledgeable of the Bible. They love to read, study, and they enjoy discussing the great doctrines of the Bible (doctrine means teaching). That is a good thing. But the intellectual believer faces a great danger—he loves doctrine so much that he only stops with doctrine. What he wants to know is just doctrines, and what he lacks is application.

On the other hand, there are some Christians who are just concerned about application, experience, and feelings. They are only eager to apply, and they find the doctrines and teachings to be dry and impractical. But their applications of Christianity are based on a very shallow understanding of the Bible, and in time to come, they will be easily swayed by every whim and fancy of strange teachings.

As Christians, we must never live such an imbalanced spiritual life. Our doctrines and our practices must both be balanced on the scales of Christianity. Only such a balanced spiritual life is worthy of the Lord. It is pleasing unto Him, and it will lead us to live a certain kind of life.

I. A Fruitful Life

Firstly, it is a fruitful life. Paul said, "…being fruitful in every good work,…" No man can be saved by good works, but only by grace through faith. As Ephesians 2:8 says: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." And Romans 10:17 says: "…faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."

The Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to convict us of our sins and enables us to embrace our Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. Upon our salvation, the Holy Spirit and the Word of God continue to work in our lives so that we may do good works. When we say we are not saved by good works, that is true. But we are saved unto good works, which means we are saved to do good works for the glory of God.

All of us, I believe, are familiar with 2 Timothy 3:16-17: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." The word "perfect" means to be equipped or qualified, and the word "furnished" means to be accomplished—to accomplish what? All good works. And who is the one supposed to do the good works? The man of God.

There were only two occasions in the New Testament where this phrase "man of God" was used—here in 2 Timothy 3:17 and 1 Timothy 6:11—both referring to Timothy. And Timothy was a believer. But in the Old Testament, this phrase "man of God" appears more than 70 times. Moses was called a man of God. Samson was called a man of God. Samuel was called a man of God. Elijah, Elisha, David—they were all called men of God.

It is a technical term that applies to someone who spoke the Word of God. In a broader sense, it applies to someone who belongs to God—someone whom God has called to be His child, someone whom God has given His Spirit and His Word, that he may be "perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." The opposite of a man of God is a man of the world. So this "man of God" applies to all of us who are believers, who belong to God.

Dear friend, why do you think God would allow us to live on this earth after He has saved us? We read in the Bible that heaven is the best place. If heaven is such a wonderful place, why did God not bring us to heaven the very moment He saved us?

He wants us to live our lives on this earth to do good works for His glory. Do you realise that we only have a set number of days on this earth—no more, no less? They are appointed by God. And there is also a set of things that God wants us to do—they are appointed by Him. The things that God wants us to do are the good works.

How do we know that? Where does the Bible say that? Well, Ephesians 2:10 says: "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." Something that God has "before ordained" is something that will come to pass—something that God wants us to live out.

And God has ordained us to do a set of good works. Only He knows what those good works are. But when we read the Scriptures, we know that anything we do that glorifies God are good works—our worship, our services, our evangelism, our discipleship, our giving, our support for missions, helping others, and so forth. So for as long as we live, we want to faithfully fulfill all the good works that God has set before us. He has ordained for us to do. He has opened the door for us to serve Him, to minister to others.

It is one thing to end our life—if Jesus does not come in the rapture, all of us sitting in this room will die one day. But it is another thing to finish it, and to finish it well. At the end of the day, we want to be able to say like the Apostle Paul: "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." (2 Timothy 4:7)

If you are serving as a Sunday school teacher, continue in that good work. If you are giving to the gospel work in the mission fields, continue in that good work. If you are visiting the sick and the elderly to encourage them through the Word of God, continue in that good work.

Even if you are weak, frail, and lying on your sickbed, you can still continue to do good works. Do you know how? By praying for the church and the people around you. That is what it means to be "fruitful in every good work."

Let us honestly ask ourselves: If the Word of God says to us that we are "created in Christ Jesus unto good works," (Ephesians 2:10) and God has ordained that we should walk in them. (2 Corinthians 5:17; Philippians 2:13; Titus 2:14; Titus 3:8; Matthew 5:16)—since the day of our conversion, what are the good works we have done for the glory of God? If we cannot name any good works that we have done (and are still doing), something is terribly wrong. It is not a laughing matter. It is so important because it has to do with our eternal salvation.

Again, I’m not saying that we are saved by our good works. But if we are truly saved, we cannot help it—because God has saved us for His glory, and God has ordained for us to do good works. And you and I are expected to be engaged in the good works that He has ordained for us to do.

II. A Knowledgeable Walk

Our second point: A knowledgeable walk. Look at the last part of verse 10: "…and increasing in the knowledge of God." At the point of our conversion, we knew enough knowledge about the gospel message—about sin, judgment, salvation, the Saviour, and the knowledge of God. But our knowledge of God will not stop there. It must continue to increase. The more we know about God, the more we want to worship and serve Him, the more we trust Him, the more we depend on Him, the more we want to tell others about Him.

Remember, Jesus has given to us the Great Commission—that we ought to evangelise to the lost and to disciple those who are saved. These are the words of our Lord Jesus: "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." (Matthew 28:19-20)

In other words, we are to evangelise to the world. And when they believe, we are to baptise them—they are brought into the church—and we are to disciple them by teaching them all the things that God has taught us through His Word. In fact, this is the life of the church:

• We go out to evangelise to the lost.
• When they are saved, they are brought into the church.
• They are being discipled.
• Then they go out to evangelise to others.
• When they are saved, they are brought into the church.
• They are being discipled.

And it goes on and on for as long as our Lord Jesus tarries in His return.

We cannot do this work of evangelism and discipleship unless we ourselves are increasing in the knowledge of God. God has given us His Word and His Spirit to teach us all things about Himself. And He is willing to enrich us with this knowledge to evangelise and disciple others effectively. But this knowledge will not come to us magically. It can only come to us through a diligent study of the Bible. As 2 Timothy 2:15 says: "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."

Some people would tell you, ’It doesn’t matter how much you know, as long as you have this warm feeling in your heart for Jesus.’ Have you ever met someone who says to you, ’I do not need any knowledge—only Jesus?’ Or, ’It doesn’t matter what you believe, as long as you have Jesus. It is the heart that matters.’

It may sound very nice, but that kind of statement is immediately destroyed as soon as you ask this question: ’Who is Jesus?’ The moment he or she tries to answer this question and tell you something about Jesus, knowledge is involved. He has to know what the Bible says about Jesus. That is why it is so important to study and to be equipped with the Word of God, that we may be ready to give an answer to every man that asketh us a reason of the hope that is in us. (1 Peter 3:15)

If we are brought before a judge and put on trial because of our Christian faith, we are to be ready to explain why we believe what we believe. If our neighbour asks, ’I notice you go to church every Sunday. What is it that you believe in?’—we are to be ready: not only to explain what we believe but why we believe it.

After the time of the Apostles, in the second century, there was a man named Justin Martyr, one of the most important Christian apologists. His most famous writing was titled ’The Apology,’ which he addressed to the Emperor Antoninus Pius. (Apology does not mean to apologise or say sorry—in the old English, it means defence.)

He wanted to defend the Christians against the false charges being spread around the Roman Empire about them. In those days, Christians were accused of being atheists because they did not embrace polytheism (the worship of many gods) and because they did not worship the emperor of Rome. They were accused of being traitors of the empire.

They were also accused of cannibalism—rumours spread that Christians would meet together secretly to eat somebody’s body and drink someone’s blood. This rumour was nothing more than a terrible distortion of the Lord’s Supper.

Justin Martyr clarified what the Christian church believed:

• He told the emperor that Christians were not atheists because they believed in one God, not many.
• He explained that Christians did not worship Caesar because they only worship the One Living and True God—but nonetheless, Christians were obedient to the king and judges, paid their taxes, and prayed for those who ruled over them.
• He also explained the nature of the Lord’s Supper, which was far from cannibalism.

With the knowledge he had, all these things were clarified. He was able to correct the misunderstandings, rumours, and distortions that were spread about God and His Word.

Dear friend, what about us? Are we able to defend the faith? Are we able to give an answer to every man who asks us why we believe what we believe? If we are not able to do so, then think about our unbelieving grandparents, parents, spouses, children, relatives, and colleagues who are still outside the kingdom of God. How can we share the gospel with them that they may come to believe in Jesus Christ one day?

If our unbelieving loved one is lying on his deathbed, and he’s looking at us, and we say to him, ’Dad, you must come and believe in Jesus,’—and he asks:

• ‘Who is Jesus?’
• ‘Why must I believe in Him?’
• ‘What if I do not believe in Him?’
• ‘What will happen when I die?’
• ‘Is there a soul?’
• ‘Where will my soul be?’
• ‘If my soul leaves me, what about my body?’
• ‘What will happen to my body?’

And if we say, ’Well, I do not know—you just have to believe,’—God forbid! The knowledge of God is extremely important, and believers must increase in their knowledge of God—not only for their own spiritual growth but also for the salvation of souls.

III. A Persevering Walk

Our third point: It is a persevering walk. Look at verse 11: "Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness." The words "strengthened" and "might" come from the same root word—from where we get the English word ’dynamite’. When we hear the word ’dynamite’, we know it is something very powerful. One is a verb, and the other is a noun. This "strengthened with all might" is "according to his glorious power," which is a reference to the power of the Holy Spirit. In other words, we are filled with the Holy Spirit.

How can a Christian be filled with the Holy Spirit?

• A Christian must believe that the Spirit is in him, having been sent by God into his heart—the Spirit of God dwells in his heart.
• He must believe that it is the Spirit who strengthens him to do the will of God.
• He must believe that he is in a spiritual battle, and in every spiritual confrontation, he must yield to the Spirit—which means to submit his desires to those of the Spirit and let the Spirit lead him.
• The Christian must depend on the Spirit for help, enabling him to live a life that is pleasing and acceptable to God.

One pastor gave this illustration: The Christian who is filled with the Holy Spirit can be compared to a glove. Until it is filled by the hand, a glove is powerless and useless. It is designed to do work, but it cannot work by itself. It works only as the hand controls and uses it.

The glove only does what the hand desires. It does not ask the hand to give it an assignment and then try to complete the assignment without the hand. Nor does it boast about what it can do, because it knows the hand deserves all the credit.

Likewise, the Christian is able to do good works—to worship, serve God, glorify Him, be engaged in evangelism, discipleship, giving, fellowship, and helping others who are in trouble—not because we are capable, but because of the Spirit’s empowerment.

Both ”patience” and ”longsuffering” are closely related. They mean to endure or persevere. But there is a distinction:

• Patience refers to being patient in circumstances.
• Longsuffering refers to being patient with people.

In other words:

• We need to be patient in circumstances.
• We need to be patient with people.

Life is filled with different difficult circumstances and situations—it is inevitable. Whether it be persecutions, afflictions, adversities, financial troubles, calamities, and so forth—when trouble comes, without patience, we will give up and quit.

Two days ago, we heard the news that Myanmar was hit with an earthquake—a magnitude of 7.7. It was massive. Can you imagine? The entire country was in the midst of a civil war, with political upheavals, intense fighting, people being killed—and now they have to face this devastating earthquake. The brethren in Myanmar need patience in circumstances.

Dear friend, are you someone who gives up easily? Or are you someone who will persevere no matter how difficult the situation is? All of us must understand that God is in control of everything. If He allows a difficult situation into our lives, He has a sovereign purpose for it. Oftentimes, He is using that difficult situation to mold us into the person He wants us to be.

To be patient in circumstances, we need to be longsuffering with people. We have been commanded by God to love—love those who are lost, love our enemies. If we are going to love someone who does not know Jesus Christ, we know that we could potentially be opposed, rejected, and even persecuted. So we need much patience.

We have also been commanded by God to love the believers. You may be thinking, ’Well, that’s easy—after all, they are believers.’ Do you really think so? Sometimes, it is even more difficult to love believers than unbelievers. Why do we say that? Because we expect believers to live according to certain standards of biblical truth.

And when they do not do that, we are frustrated, disappointed, and discouraged. It is more painful when a believer gossips about you than an unbeliever. It is more painful when a believer steals or cheats on you than an unbeliever. Don’t you think so?

The people we live with in our homes, the person we are married to, the children we are raising, the friends we go to church with—they are all capable of sinning (including ourselves). If we are going to love them, we must bear in mind that there are things in their lives that will challenge us, disappoint us, discourage us, and test our ability to love them. We need much patience.

It takes time to learn to be patient. And the difficult part is that oftentimes, we learn to be patient through suffering—and suffering long. That is why it is very significant that the King James Bible translated this word as "longsuffering."

Once, a Christian asked his pastor to pray for him so that he might have patience. He said, ’Pastor, I do lack patience, and I wish you would pray for me.’ The pastor replied, ’Sure, I will pray for you right now.’ So he began to pray: ‘Lord, please send trials and tribulations so that our brother may learn to have patience.’

The man quickly put his hand on the pastor’s arm to stop his prayer: ’I believe you have not heard me correctly. I did not ask for tribulation—I’m asking you to pray for patience.’ The pastor replied, ’Oh, I have heard you. But haven’t you heard that Romans 5:3 says, “But we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience”?’

Isn’t it true that we acquire patience from the things we suffer, endure, and persevere through?

• God told Noah to build an ark in the wilderness at a time when the earth had never seen any rain before. For 120 years, with longsuffering, Noah worked patiently in building the ark and preached to the people regarding God’s coming judgment.
• Moses received the promise of God that his descendants would become a great nation—and yet he was not given Isaac, the child of promise, until he was nearly 100 years old. With longsuffering, he waited until Isaac was born.
• When God called Jeremiah, He told the prophet that no one would believe his message and that he would be hated and persecuted. Yet, with longsuffering, Jeremiah served the LORD faithfully until the end of his life.

The same goes with the Apostles—Paul, Peter, John, James, and the other believers of old. They had the same characteristic of virtue: longsuffering.

What about us?

• As a leader, ask yourself: When the members look at my life, what would they say?
• As a parent, ask yourself: When my children look at my life, what would they say?
• As an individual, ask yourself: When my friends or colleagues look at my life, what would they see?

Would they see an attitude of longsuffering? Or an attitude of murmuring and complaining?

An attitude of longsuffering is one that accepts God’s plan, His will, His purpose for everything. He will not complain when the situation gets difficult. He will not murmur when others give up and walk away. He will press on and persevere. He will not complain when he’s not being appreciated—or even when he is being persecuted in the church, in the workplace, or wherever he goes. Instead of murmuring and complaining, he will be joyful.

Immediately, some of us may be thinking: ’How can one be joyful in times of trouble?’ Well, this is a supernatural, spiritual joy. Remember, the believers are filled with the Holy Spirit. And as the psalmist says, "The joy of the Lord is my strength" (Nehemiah 8:10). Even in times of trouble, the believer is able to be patient and longsuffering—with joyfulness. This is the kind of life God wants you and me to live: walking worthy of the Lord.

He who has called us, transported us out of darkness into His marvellous light (1 Peter 2:9), has also given us certain requirements, standards, and obligations. We are expected to live such a life. And such a life is:

1. A fruitful life—bearing fruit in every good work.
2. A knowledgeable walk—increasing in our knowledge of our God.
3. A persevering walk—being patient and longsuffering with joyfulness.

May the Spirit of God, through the work of God’s inspired and preserved Word, do this mighty work in our lives—that all of us as believers will walk worthy of the Lord, to the glory of His precious name. Let us pray.

Father in heaven, indeed, as believers, we are not only naming our Lord Jesus with our mouths, but truly His Spirit lives in our hearts. He who has saved us has given to us the indwelling Holy Spirit and His Word, the Bible. And we are to live in the power of the Spirit, in accordance to Thy Word, so that we may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works—the good works that Thou hast ordained for us to walk in them.

As Thou would open doors for us, we know that the things we do, the things we say, will glorify Thee. We acknowledge and recognise that those are good works—whether it be our worship, our services, our giving, whether it be evangelism, discipleship, fellowship, helping one another in the church or outside the church. If it glorifies Thee and points others to Thee, we want to be engaged in such a work.

We have one life to live, and we want to live this life walking worthy of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. And Thou hast taught us through Thy precious Word that it is a fruitful walk, it is a knowledgeable walk, and it is also a persevering walk.

Help us, for this is a spiritual work that only the Spirit of God can wrought in our hearts and in our lives. Do Thy mighty work, so that all of us will walk worthy of our Lord Jesus. We pray all this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

THE BOOK OF COLOSSIANS

A Faith And Love That Shines

A Faith And Love That Shines

Colossians 1:1-4

The Blessedness Of Our Christian Hope

The Blessedness Of Our Christian Hope

Colossians 1:5-6a

The Transforming Power Of The Gospel

The Transforming Power Of The Gospel

Colossians 1:6b-8

The Need For Prayers

The Need For Prayers

Colossians 1:9

Prayer for Spiritual Excellence

Prayer for Spiritual Excellence

Colossians 1:9-12

Walk Worthy Of The Lord

Walk Worthy Of The Lord

Colossians 1:10-11

What Does It Mean To Call God Our Father?

What Does It Mean To Call God Our Father?

Colossians 1:12

Message 3: What is Christ to you? My Covenantal Head!

Message 3: What is Christ to you? My Covenantal Head!

Colossians 2:4-9, 19

Message 4: What is a healthy and sound church? My Covenantal Haven!

Message 4: What is a healthy and sound church? My Covenantal Haven!

Colossians 2:7

Message 2: What is Church to you? My Covenantal Family!

Message 2: What is Church to you? My Covenantal Family!

Exodus 12:48-49, Colossians 2:11-12